I Want, I Want, I Want.....'Dream On'

I am speechless, this picture happened upon me today and I was gasping for air.  Man this is fashion, this is God like, this is me, this jacket rocks.   I want, I want, I want!!!!  If you want to see more of the fabulous Chanel for 2012/2013 pop on over here, sit back and dream on.................

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Lovelies

The Fibro Beach Shack' The Adirondack Chairs'

Apparently one must have  'Adirondack' chairs at there beach houses.  Naturally not a girl who wants to miss out on anything, I went searching for them.  Firstly I tried Ebay and  Gumtree, then visited a few of my favourite old wares, junk and antique stores, they old ones are like hens teeth.  I really wanted one that had been loved and showed some character. (basically the budget is starting to look a bit grim and I am eeking out the money in dribs and drabs, looking for a bargain here and there.  

These Adirondack chairs have quite a history, here, and when I googled Adirondack retail Sydney, I came up with all kinds of versions of the Adirondack, varying in shape, size and price range, available in flat packs, custom orders etc. etc. etc.  Definitely no more flat packs at the this stage of the project, I'm over the alan key.  Enter Jamie Drury........Jamie (gardener to the stars)  has a range of not too shabby patio, and garden furniture available at Big W, and to my surprise he does a version of the Adirondack, and I could buy it on line and have it delivered, so Jamie at $198 each, you got me at, on line and home delivery...............................

The chairs arrived promptly on the day and time I was quoted, I was so happy with the whole internet experience, doing a little dance in my front garden as the men carried the boxed chairs and even put them in the back of my car.   Yahoooo.  Up to the fibro beach shack they were bound and stayed in their boxes the stayed until the deck was complete.  Deck complete, I opened the box and proudly set my collapsible (? great for storage) Adirondack chairs on the deck.  Is it me or is it you?  Do those chairs look slightly grey?  Each time a friend popped in I would ask these two questions.  Same answer. Yes they are greyish, but, but the box says white.  I immediately climbed on the roof (the only place I can get Internet and phone service, so if you call me and I don't answer my phone, call again and give me time to get up on the roof) I search Big W 'Adirondack chair' and here it is telling me the colour is OYSTER WHITE, that can't be right, I swear it just said white when I purchased them on line.  Long story short. They used to come in white when I ordered mine..la, la, la.....but the new shipment came in oyster white and I happened to get two of the new shipment.  

I am really, really disappointed, they just look grey and they definitely can't stay grey....so here is my opportunity to paint them a bright, retro colour or paint them white.

 Bright and bold......

 Retro hues as opposed to white

 Pastels

 I can't remember where I sourced this picture from, I just love it, the fabric is so wonderfuly floral.  have had it on my desktop for such a long time.  I am thinking of making myself one to twirl  around the fibro shack when I have guests, much more stylish then a snuggy in winter!

Should I paint the chairs white or do I go for a colour?

In My Life 'A Vintage Blouse and A Scarf'

This little hand embroidered, boho peasant blouse belonged to my daughter Peta, soo cute, don't you think!  My mother bought it when she was travelling through europe, she actually bought two, one for my other daughter Lauren, sadly I can't find it....The fabric is so delicate, the soft cheese cloth / muslin would be hard to find these days if they still weave it. I have always been a fan of the bo ho look, for toddlers , and I think there is nothing cuter than a peasant blouse over a fave pair of denims............

Isn't this the retro painted buffet to die for........my lovely friend Lisa from The Red Thread gifted it to me.  This lady has awesome taste, she's way cool and every thing she does is so hot right now, have a peek over here at her Boudoir.....gorgeous! 

This is a Moschino scarf the sailor bought for me on our first trip overseas, he thought this colourful and out there print was so me.  I loved it immediately and wore it for one winter, until I decided it was just too amazing to fold and tie around my neck so I had it framed.  It gives such a punch in our living room but then again just about everything else does, so if you are wondering what my house looks like inside this will give you an idea, but don't ever expect anything to stay the same because my home interior is like a chameleon, it changes to suit my moods..............

The Fibro Beach Shack 'Beauty Is In the Eye Of the Beholder'

I fell in love with this minty green, curly snail ceramic ornament the first week  it was official that the fibro beach shack was mine.  Sitting very dusty high and forgotten on a shelf at one of my fave junk shops, I  immediately  knew this beauty t was destined for a greater purpose in her life, that of a lamp base in the fibro beach shack.  When I bought her home the sailor said "Yuck" and my friends were not at all complimentary, ugly, vulgar, kitch (now, I didn't mind that), awkward, cheap etc etc., so she sat in the corner of my studio for months feeling like the ugly duckling waiting for her chance to make the trip up to the beach shack. Whilst she sat there over the weeks I googled and googled and finally came across 'Shady Dave's Lamps'.  Shady Dave's business is to make ornaments and such object d'art into lamp bases, I was just a little bit excited.  And here she is all ready to be adorned with a lovely shade.  On Saturday I popped her in the car and off we went to visit the girls at  'No Chintz.    Being a larger shade then the little funky shade I covered for the yellow ginger jar,  I didn't feel like tackling this one by myself.  So here we are..............

I love it!

This is the quilt cover that will dominate the other bedroom.  Very navy and white.

Trims and such

Couldn't help but pick the trim first and style it of course.

I have picked a lovely cream heavy linen and this trim for the bottom.  It's rather plain but I think the lamp will stay and given that I can always work the bedding around this simple palette.  

What do you think of my lamp base?  Love it or hate it?  Come on don't be shy.  

The search continues for a rug for the lounge floor, and artwork for the bedrooms, the final coat of exterior paint goes on this week. Yeah!  so lots more pics next week. 

The Fibro Beach Shack, 'The Bathroom'

Step this way to the bathroom...........

I replaced the door with this door, ( a long story about the floor levels being raised after the tiling and me planning the door down a tad too much, because the use of big boy power tools really is fun).  The door is actually a front door but how retro does it look.  I haven't painted  as yet as I was thinking of painting it the colour of the prima that it is.  

The bathroom is tight, therefore I needed to keep the fixtures functional,using less area, to give an illusion of spaciousness. The pedestal basin worked very well as did the retro inspired bevelled mirror.

Storage for cosmetics and personal care items is a small problem but a trip to Ikea and Freedom will have it sorted. I just need to live in the space for a few days and work out what where storage is needed.

The colour is a Resene paint 'Onepoto' it's a very fresh turquoise colour, I wouldn't use it at home but for the beach house it had the beachy retro feel I wanted.  The shower screen I bought as a flat pack and it was relatively easy to install, with a few screws drilling it to the floor and wall and then loads of silicone sealer, a trip to the Nail Spa and presto!    I spy a Tiki.  

The bathroom wasn't quite big enough for me to get a better photograph of this happy little Tui Bird wall sticker.  I won this fabulous little bit of Kiwiana over at the lovely Juliet's blog Tartankiwi.  I was so excited when I won this giveaway, I new this quirky and brightly designed wall sticker would have a very special place to live one day, and I can't think of anywhere more special then the fibro bach!  Pop on over and visit Stickytikis you'll love the many quirky and fun designed wall stickers as much as I do.  

Before...............

One question......After a few visits to the bathroom, I feel the door should be painted white to create the illusion of space.  I love the colour as it is (Dulux, Emerald Haze)  I love how the outside of the door jumps out next to the orange and pink stripe.  Is it too Much?
Should I paint the inside white and the outside Emerald Haze?

This week I'm thinking of a rug for the lounge floor......I was thinking an animal skin!

From My Attic......

In my last couple of posts I have mentioned the wonderful big white house that I grew up in.  There was not one room in our gorgeous old home that wasn't filled with trinkets and treasures, hand stitched patchworks, crochet and knitted throws, original artworks, and exotic rugs from the middle east. (told you they were an eccentric lot)  The furniture was over sized and quite unlike anything Brisbane folk had ever seen, not to mention the many stuffed birds, four legged friends and their horns and antlers peering down from the walls.   When I look back on having my friends from school visit me, I understand their early departure, was due to the fact that our home was something quite museum like in decor, a tad overwhelming, and probably a little spooky.  So getting back to the post......my mother, God bless her was very diligent in not only keeping family records, journals and photographs stored , she kept, boxes of fabrics, trims and buttons, (even my clothing) and most of the trinkets and treasures that were in our house. The fabric, trims and buttons I use for my Rowantree collection and the trinkets and treasures sit happily in a chest in my attic.  

Last month, in search of old photographs to use at the beach house, I came across a few special pieces from my bedroom which I just had to take out and have the pleasure of looking at for a while in my studio.

Hand crochet kitty kat bunting.

  Crochet by my Great Grand Mere' and hung above my cot 

Hand painted floral cotton bunting with pom poms

Hand painted by my mother and hung from my four poster bed, this is one panel.

I love the pom pom trim, it doesn't come on decorative cotton band like this anymore.

Cheeky chipmunk book ends

I always loved these cheery guys...... I took them to boarding school with me and they happily shared my room with posers  of Cat Stevens, Neil Young, and Van Morrison.  

Over the next couple of months I will be photographing trinkets and treasures from my attic and will add a new category to my online shop 'From the Attic' so if here is anything you are interested in drop me an email.